​The town was alive with activity. Willie Collier, the famous actor and vaudevillian, was summering as usual with his vaudeville pals. New York City’s Mayor Gaynor was preparing his guests for a summer baseball game at the field at Deepwells, his home away from the city. The hotel was alive with activity and the train was coming into the station bringing a variety of celebrities – Cornelia Otis Skinner, the famous actress and playwright, the amazing Barrymore’s, and the buzz was that George M. Cohan was going to be Willie’s guest for the weekend. The time – the early 1900’s – the place to be – St. James.

This little hamlet, some 50 miles from Manhattan, seemed to be a magnet for the arts. It was the home of Stanford White, the famous and then infamous architect, whose buildings still attest to his talent and vision. It was the playground of actors, singers, and dancers from vaudeville to opera to the Broadway stage. It had charm, and it had something special.

It still does today, over a century later. The folks in St. James have a sense of pride in their town even though it has suffered the challenges of many similar communities – small business trying to compete with big box stores and malls – decaying infrastructure – and local government unable to meet the challenges of modernization.

Something happened this year, however. People kept talking about how much they loved the town and started doing something to prove it. A Civic Association was born along with its offshoot, Celebrate St. James, and the Chamber of Commerce came alive once again. A weekly farmer’s market attracted Saturday morning shoppers, a series of summer nights street events brought out families to mix and mingle. People came and came together.

The business community helped fund an historic 18-month calendar. The kids in the high school helped by selling them raising funds to reawaken the spirit and history of this special town which was a mecca for the arts. Art events and holiday fun, with an eye towards education, brought still more people out and an ambitious project was conceived.

The town would come together to view an original musical comedy which was so well received that it was made into a movie and will be screening on March 10th hosted by Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim

​Here’s what he had to say:“I'd say history has a special way of repeating itself and the proof is what has unfolded in the hamlet of St James. A renaissance is upon us, as local leaders in the fine arts join forces with our Chamber, Civic groups and community organizations. The community is working together as one force with a vision to restore St James, preserving its historic roots and charm for generations to come. We are at the dawn of a revival. And I am so thankful for the people of St James, whose energy and synergy has become my inspiration as we begin redevelopment.”

​Wow! Looks like the forces have aligned. Each week the local papers have been supportive by publishing news and progress of coming events. Everyday more people are stepping forward to volunteer. The excitement is clearly mounting, but there is much work to do and a long road ahead. The cause, however, is worth the effort. The preservation of the values of community and small-town life are what we want and need to pass on to future generations. We can only do this by learning about and learning from the past – and what better way than learning together?